Mark Indermaur, a volunteer chess coach and organizer, has taught chess and life skills to over a thousand Wake County Public School students since 2011. He opened his clubs to all students regardless of age or ability and quickly grew the Hunter Elementary School club to be the largest in the state with more than 150 students.
His club goals are simple – to have fun, learn, and play lots of chess – and yet, he has led teams from Hunter, Ligon Middle, and Enloe High Schools to twenty-three Triangle and four state championships and has been named NC Chess Coach of the Year in 2016, 2020, and 2023. In 2019, Indermaur and his wife Meredith, parents of 6 WCPSS alumni, founded the nonprofit Indermaur Chess Foundation to help more North Carolina schools, libraries, and community organizations start chess programs. Since then they have supported over 110 chess clubs in 44 NC counties, including 17 in Wake County Public Schools.